FTSE 100 movers: Sky gains on Comcast report; Babcock goes ex-div

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3% to 7,329.93 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

Hammerson was clawing back some of its losses from Wednesday, when shares fell after it announced that it had agreed to buy rival Intu Properties in a £3.4bn all-share deal that will create a £21bn portfolio across Europe.

Sky gained following reports that Comcast Corp is interested in taking full control of the broadcaster and other assets of major shareholder 21st Century Fox, which is already in advanced sale talks with Disney.

Ashtead was up as Numis upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘add’ and lifted the price target to 2,500p from 2,000p, while educational publisher Pearson, which is currently down almost 10 per cent since the turn of the year, was lifted as JP Morgan Cazenove hiked its target price for the stock to 740p from 671p.

“A strong economic environment and a boost from hurricane clear-up activity provide the backdrop to Ashtead's Q2/H1 results. Management continues to execute a clear strategy and the business is supported by a strong balance sheet providing significant flexibility. Additionally, US tax cuts now appear closer to becoming a reality, providing a potential boost to earnings and economic stimulus.”

Going the other way, Babcock International was on the back foot as it went ex-dividend, while miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton retreated as copper and iron prices fell.

Costa and Premier Inn owner Whitbread slipped, giving back some gains made in the previous session when it emerged that US activist investor Sachem Capital had bought a stake in the group.

Cyclicals paced gains on Wednesday, alongside a bounce in food retailers with financials figuring prominently ahead of interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday evening, as well as the Bank of England and European Central Bank the next day.

Stocks sagged as a weaker-than-expected reading on US inflation sent the single currency higher ahead of the US central bank's policy announcement later on Wednesday, with Italian stocks also battered by reports which, analysts said, held out the prospect for political instability in the Eurozone's third-largest economy in 2018.

Thursday is a big day for the Brexit process as the European Council begins its two-day meeting in Brussels, while the Bank of England's and European Central Bank's rate setters are also convening and results are expected from the likes of Bunzl, Cussons, Ocado and Sports Direct.

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